In 2015 the world leaders of 193 nations committed to end all forms of poverty, fight inequality and tackle aspects of climate change by 2030, among others. They identified 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and defined 169 targets to measure the progress on the SDGs. The goals have resonated with many business leaders and institutional investors worldwide, as they provide the opportunity for the private sector to contribute to supporting a more sustainable, fair and secure world. This not only makes business sense in terms of providing a more stable environment for companies and investors to operate and invest into, it also reinforces the powerful role that the private sector plays – alongside the public sector, NGOs and civil society – in shaping the direction and health of the global economy.

Stafford has been committing capital into sustainable investments since its foundation. The societal impact objective of these investments varies significantly from mandates looking to increase investments in certain locales or groups to mandates and funds seeking to support green or cleantech investments. In 2003 we started investing in the timberland sector, delivering returns to clients through the sustainable management of forests. Timberland has been increasingly recognised for its sustainable characteristics, most significantly through its ability to sequester carbon.

Robeco Private Equity (now part of Stafford) launched its first sustainability focused private equity fund product in 2004 and has since then raised more than USD 1.5 billion for sustainability-themed investments jointly with Stafford.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

United Nations Member States have adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015. It provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.

Source: https://sdgs.un.org/goals

Our track record includes primary and secondary commitments to more than 75 different private equity and infrastructure funds active in the cleantech and sustainability space. We have also made dozens of co-investments into sustainability focused companies alongside our investee fund managers. More recently we have raised capital for a secondaries-focused private equity fund, committing to funds and direct secondaries which contribute in a meaningful way to one or more of the SDGs.

With the SDGs, Stafford sees the opportunity to utilize a single framework for measurement and reporting of the varied investment programs we manage and for this framework to be widely accepted and understood by our investors, fund managers, underlying asset managers, and others. Against this backdrop, we are committed to incorporating the SDGs into its investment processes and portfolios across all business units. More specifically, we conduct SDG analysis in our due diligence, and post-investment, we identify SDG targets for each portfolio company and monitor their progress on these targets over time. As part of the assessment, the deal teams examine underlying portfolio company reports, policies, sustainability initiatives, news and press releases, alongside sector analysis and discussions with the GPs.

Figures below highlight the most relevant SDGs and corresponding targets for products and mandates that Stafford manages across its five business lines, namely timberland, infrastructure, agriculture& food, private equity and private credit. Investee companies and assets in Stafford’s portfolios contribute mostly to the following SDGs that refer to Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure (SDG 9), Decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), Responsible consumption & production (SDG 12), and Good Health & Well Being (SDG 3).

Stafford Impact Reporting Framework (SIRF)

In 2018 Stafford developed an assessment framework to solidify the definition of sustainability and help determine the contribution of a potential investment to the SDGs. With this proprietary Impact Reporting Framework, we can assess the alignment of portfolios managed across business lines with the 17 SDGs and their corresponding 169 targets. Where applicable, each company or asset is assigned one or more SDG targets, whereby the alignment can be assessed as minimal, moderate or significant and categorised based on impact source (business model, policy & initiatives or operations).